Back in early December Ross and I went to Seattle for about a week. He went for work and I went to explore the city and meet up with a couple of my blogger pals! I got to hang out with Cathy of The Grit and Polish at her beautiful farmhouse outside the city and we both met up with Joanna of Jojotastic for lunch and to check in on her kitchen renovation. I asked my fine Instagram followers for recommendations of what to do/see/eat in Seattle and you did not disappoint. I’ve listed everyone’s suggestions here!

But first, I give you a video diary - or vlog, if you will. It’s is mostly a video version of a photo scrapbook of where we ate, clips of pretty trees, and shots of animals - which is basically all I care about.

I love having lots of artwork throughout our home. It’s probably because of my years of art school and working in art museums. Yeah, that’s probably why. I enjoy having pieces I find beautiful, ones that make me think, those that make me laugh, and the ones that are nostalgic. Bad art is my biggest deign pet peeve, simply because I hate when people fill their home with nothingness just for the sake of having decor. It makes me sad to see junk hung on the walls of people’s homes just to fill the space.

In this post I round up my favorite online art retailers, list framing options, and share each and every piece of artwork in my personal collection. Take a look!

Heartwarming stories, kitchen remodels, new items from my favorite ethical clothing brand, a blog post that resonated with me, more thoughts on Loop, how I did on my yoga challenge and my favorite yoga gear, a showstopping bathroom sink, my new manicure technique, and more!

I wrote a blog post last year with a list of unique ways to donate a bunch of things when you’re decluttering. Things like dingy towels, toiletries, cleaning products, paint samples, light bulbs, eyeglasses, houseplants, and so so much more. Check it out even if you read it last year because I added a few more tips, and we can always use a refresher.

I mentioned the Buy Nothing Project in that post but I want to give it a big shout out and profess my love for this group. I mean LOVE. I’m in this group’s page literally every day and I’ve decluttered a bunch of hard-to-get rid of items (read my trash - I’ll explain later), plus I’ve saved oodles of money in the group, too. What is it, you ask? Well, I’ll tell ya.

Energy consumption has been on my mind lately as we’ve been gearing up to add solar panels to our roof and as we continue to think about our footprint on this lil’ world of ours. We hear lots about how we should use LED bulbs instead of incandescent and we should get energy star appliances instead of energy guzzlers - both of which I firmly believe and included in my list of ways to make green energy improvements at home. But, I wanted to know exactly how much energy each of my lights, appliances, tools, and electronics around the house were actually consuming. Because I’m type-A like that.

It’s Friday already, so I’m back with a list of things that have been on my mind and what’s been inspiring me on the internet in the past week. It includes an update on our foster dog, the audiobooks I finished this week, a 1950s house tour, a good laugh, a new tea kettle, a homemade kombucha update, thoughts on our food, unique artwork, and a hot tip on traveling for free!

I posed an open-ended “ask me anything!” questionnaire on Instagram last week and got oodles of questions. So, I’m here to answer them for you. Every. Single. One. I’m hoping this gives you more insight into who I am, more about the house, and my tricks of the trade. Enjoy!

Among my top 10 hobbies is deep cleaning my house. Call me crazy, but it’s just my jam. I’ve spent ages perfecting my routine to be as efficient as possible, years finding my favorite non-toxic cleaners, and just a few months to learn how to do it all without any waste. I filmed a quick video of me doing a kitchen deep clean and wrote out my step-by-step cleaning process. Check it out!

The things I’ve been up to and what’s been on my mind this week including appliance shopping, a moody tablescape, the book I’m reading, an architecture event, what to do with our recycling, how to mix wood tones, how I prepare for spring, the super bloom, environmental racism, and re-watching a favorite show.

In today’s Weekly Roundup, I’m sharing a moody dining room, an update on my kitchen design, a home tour of a friend, the artwork I’m excited to add to my collection, a dupe for my office pendant, the best mascara, a compostable hair brush, the movie that shocked me, a bathroom makeover, a retailer that went carbon neutral, and more!

If you know me IRL, or if you’ve been here awhile, you may have noticed I’m really indecisive and over think things WAY too much. I’ve been designing my kitchen for nearly FOUR YEARS now. I made minor upgrades to my current kitchen because I thought we’d only live with it for a mere 6 months. Well, here we are 4 years later and I’m still designing the future space. BUT! I think I may have come up with the best layout that makes the fewest compromises and sticks to a more reasonable budget! Check it out and let me know what you think.

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